February & March 2007 Issues

Apologies for being silent for a while! The last two months have been packed with a colossal of activities which inevitably caused the delay in writing the updates. Here is the summary of the activities which we have covered since early this year:  More Details>>

October 06

We have the opportunity to visit a newly established seagrass bed the size of a football field. Fishermen claimed that the seagrasses in this area was previously smothered by port construction but the seagrasses have started re-colonizing in the last two years. It would be interesting to start seagrass mapping and observe the dynamicchanges", says Len. More Details>>

Aug and Sept 2006

SOS's effort to promote seagrass conservation awareness has been carried out on Aug 26 and Sept 10 through participation of 19 secondary school students from Sekolah Menengah Gelang Patah. The event has been covered by the local media (see News Strait Times Aug 27 and Berita Harian Sept 9).  More Details>>

July 2006 

Spotting a lived dugong in the wild can be an exquisite experience few people will live to witness. But at Merambong shoal, you stand a good chance to see the feeding trails left by dugongs which in itself, is a fascinating sight. More Details>>

May 2006 

The highlight of our May program are the Grade 6 pupils from the Sekolah Rendah Tanjung Kupang. Cikgu Bakthiar, the school teacher and one of our active volunteers, intiated the mangrove education for kids. More Details>>

Aug 2005

Port Backs Conservation (21 Aug 2005)

SOS's First Exhibition (5 to 7 Aug 2005)
SOS's first exhibition at Plaza Pelanggi, Johor Bahru aimed at promoting public awareness and fundraising.More Details>>

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FEBRUARY & MARCH 2007 ISSUES

Apologies for being silent for a while! The last two months have been packed with a colossal of activities which inevitably caused the delay in writing the updates. Here¡¦s the summary of the activities which we have covered since early this year:

• Seagrass satellite mapping and analyses (ongoing)
• Seahorse and Pipefish tagging (ongoing)
• Mapping new seagrass bed, participation from the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysian Nature Society and the Johor National Park (ongoing)
• Seagrass fish survey
• Mangrove Education Program at Sek.Rendah Tanjung Kupang (10 Feb 2007)
• Seagrass Education Program at Sek.Rendah Tanjung Kupang (10 Feb 2007)
• Seagrass Education Program at Sek. Menengah Tanjung Adang (3 Mac 2007)

Finally, we can all look at the image of the seagrass meadow taken from the space. Our thanks to the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (MACRES) for the image and special thanks to Mr. Karthik, who spent days working on it. The approximately 40-hectares meadow took an elongated shape, located between the second link and the Pulau Merambong.   READ MORE >>

October 06 Updates

Len McKenzie (pic), the program coordinator of the Seagrass-Watch and also our project partner, visited several seagrass beds and offered sound technical advice on future survey.

A newly established seagrass bed awaits mapping soon.

We have the opportunity to visit a newly established seagrass bed the size of a football field. Fishermen claimed that the seagrasses in this area was previously smothered by port construction but the seagrasses have started re-colonizing in the last two years. It would be interesting to start seagrass mapping and observe the dynamicchanges", says Len. 

Pupils were totally absorbed in colouring contest (pic left) and they creatively made marine animal models (seahorse, starfish, turtles, sea cucumbers etc.) from plasticines (pic right).
 
 
 

A one-day seagrass and mangroves education programme was conducted for 18 pupils from Sekolah Rendah Tanjung Kupang. The pupils show off their talents in colouring competition, modelling marine animals using plasticines, solving puzzles and answering quizzes. Later in the evening they were taken for a mangrove walk.  

SOS thanked the school teacher, Cikgu Bakthiar and a number of Kustem undergraduates for their roles as module facilitators. Their commitment for advancing marine education and awareness at the school level brought plenty of fond memories for the pupils as well as for themselves.

Aug and Sept 2006 Updates

SOS's effort to promote seagrass conservation awareness has been carried out on Aug 26 and Sept 10 through participation of 19 secondary school students from Sekolah Menengah Gelang Patah. The event has been covered by the local media (see News Strait Times Aug 27 and Berita Harian Sept 9).

Azwarina giving presentation on seagrass conservation

Facilitators were KUSTEM marine biology undergraduates, who gave explanation on the basic seagrass biology, importance and threats to seagrass and guided the secondary school students through seagrass monitoring and seagrass invertebrates survey. This event was well received. Congratulation to the facilitators!

The students were racing against the tide in running transect lines, estimating percent seagrass cover and recording data.

Cheerio! Group photo comprising students and teachers from Sek Mengengah Gelang Patah and Kustem undergraduates

JULY 2006 Updates

                                                                                     Dugong feeding trails

Spotting a lived dugong in the wild can be an exquisite experience few people will live to witness. But at Merambong shoal, you stand a good chance to see the feeding trails left by dugongs which in itself, is a fascinating sight.

Dugongs feed primarily on seagrasses. At the Merambong shoal, we found that they prefer the oval-shaped seagrass, Halophila ovalis. At low tide, their feeding trails are exposed, resembling irregular patterns of sandy passages. It is believed that dugong feedings help to boost seagrass regenerative process and create microhabitats for smaller invertebrates.

The juvenile dugong which perished recently. It is now kept in Gelang Patah Fisheries Department. Note: It takes between 3-5 years for an adult female to give birth to one baby dugong.

Sadly, on the 21 July 2006, a 1.5-m long dugong carcass was found at Pendas. The dugong was entangled in discarded nets and was already dead when discovered by a local fisherman. In fact during the last decade, there have been a number of reports of incidental captures of dugongs in the Pulai River Estuary. But until now, the number of dugongs living here remains a mystery.

MAY 2006 Updates

The highlight of our May program are the Grade 6 pupils from the Sekolah Rendah Tanjung Kupang. Cikgu Bakthiar, the school teacher and one of our active volunteers, intiated the mangrove education for kids. We had briefing and class exercises before our facilitators, Farid, Nazaqul, Aziana and Zuliha brought the pupils into the world of mangroves.

At Pulau Merambong, our volunteers continue to discover interesting marine animals, such as the zoanthids (pic above) which are ubiquitous on the intertidal rocky shores. The survey at the seagrass bed, unfortunately, were unable to yield any seahorse despite the volunteers' arduous effort.